


Book Commentary: Coraline

by mlmcg12



Series: Book Blog Transcripts [79]
Category: Coraline - Neil Gaiman
Genre: Cross-Posted on WordPress, Gen, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:53:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28967883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mlmcg12/pseuds/mlmcg12
Series: Book Blog Transcripts [79]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2123052
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

  * OK, this totally sounds weird, but I have this weird tradition about reading this around Thanksgiving every year. Yeah, I know Halloween sounds better, but it makes more sense to me for Thanksgiving because it reminds me of getting my copy at the fall Scholastic Book Fair in 2003, early on in sixth grade.
  * Also, expect me to have loads of the standard “The Book Was Better Than The Movie” complaints throughout this reread. 
    * My first complaint is that movie!Coraline is much more of a brat than book!Coraline. I will… probably explain more as I read (but take some of my explanations with a grain of salt because it’s been ages since I’ve watched the actual movie).
  * But anyway, back to the regularly scheduled book commentary.
  * So, Coraline and her parents live in the middle flat in a renovated mansion. The attic and the basement have already been long-rented-out.
  * Also, Suspicious Door Coraline Found Is Suspicious.
  * Oh, wait. In the book, Misses Spink and Forcible rented out the ground floor, Coraline’s family rented out the middle floor, and the Weird Old Man rented out the attic. And the basement was just… The Basement That’s Not Overly Creepy Yet. (Misses Spink and Forcible had the basement in the movie? I think?)
  * So, Miss Spink and Miss Forcible are retired actresses.
  * Also, the dogs are funny.
  * And the Weird Old Man’s trying to train a mouse circus.
  * Everyone mispronouncing Coraline’s name all the time has gotta be frustrating. The closest I’ve ever gotten is “wait, do you have an H in the middle of your name or not?” 
    * No, but random question: At what point do you get so tired of being patient when trying to correct people who get your name wrong that you just snap and get so petty you purposely get their names wrong until they get the point?
  * OK, but those gardens and the tennis court sound like they’d be amazing if someone got around to actually fixing them. (Random memory, with spoilers: I forget how much the garden changed when Coraline went to the Other Mother’s world in the book, but the whole “making it look nice to show off to entice Coraline” sequence in the movie was just… a bit too showy? And because the whole thing felt so overdone, it kinda lost some of the charm from the book.)
  * After Miss Spink and Miss Forcible vaguely mentioned it, Coraline’s trying to find the scary old well that’s super deep and got closed off, just so she can know where it is and avoid it so she doesn’t get hurt. Child Logic seems legit here.
  * Ah, yes. The Cat. Gotta love The Cat.
  * Yeah, being stuck inside when it’s raining and you’ve read everything you have 5,000 times and you’ve watched all your TV shows and you’re a kid does get boring.
  * The dad’s just like “OK, you explored the outside of the house, right? Have you explored the inside yet? Go count all these things. But just be quiet because I’m Working.”
  * Lovely. The one Suspicious Door That Should Go Into One Of The Flats In The Other Half Of Coraline’s Floor is all bricked up. And locked. And Coraline’s mom didn’t bother locking the door back up because Why Would She Lock A Bricked-Up Door?
  * So, Coraline hates it when her dad makes Recipes… which kinda sound like failed dishes on _Chopped_. And then Coraline’s just like “screw it, I’m making myself a TV dinner pizza.” 
    * And now I’m suddenly reminded of the time my dad tried making some sort of polenta and ham thing? a few years back. My first reaction was “OMG, dad’s making a _Recipe_.” And then I was like “I don’t know what polenta is, but I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to look like _that_.” (Turns out I was right after watching so much _Chopped_ since then.)
  * Oh, lovely. Coraline’s trying to go to sleep, and the Bricked-Over Door just seemingly opened itself up… but a rat got in through the door. Even though it’s supposed to still be bricked over. And the rat’s invading Coraline’s nightmares and brought a few rat buddies to taunt her.




	2. Chapter 2

  * So, it’s stopped raining, and Coraline’s finally allowed to go outside again. And apparently the fog is so thick, it puts pea soup to shame.
  * Coraline ran into Miss Spink, who started reminiscing about how when she and Miss Forcible used to get loads of flowers sent to their dressing rooms from men back when they were actresses ~~(despite total lesbian vibes from the two of them, because how else do you explain them living together with a crapton of dogs once they retired?).~~
  * ~~Also, how else are you supposed to interpret the bit two seconds later when Coraline runs into Miss Forcible worrying about Miss Spink wandering around in the fog and getting her shingles to act up?~~
  * The Old Man Upstairs is like “The mice hate the fog. Also, they say ‘Coraline, don’t go through the door.'” and Coraline’s just like “LOL what? At least _they_ got my name right.”
  * School’s supposed to start up in a week, which is always fun.
  * And now Coraline’s bored again. And her parents are too busy to hang out with her again.
  * Coraline’s visiting Misses Spink and Forcible for tea. ~~And the two old ladies are fighting like an old married couple.~~
  * OK, so, the Old Man Upstairs said the mice don’t want Coraline to go through the totally- ~~not-~~ bricked-and-locked door, and now her tea leaves say she’s in danger. Because that door isn’t weird at all.
  * So Miss Spink gave Coraline a weird stone with a hole in it to protect her from danger. I know in the movie, it was a flat triangle-looking stone with a hole in it, but I’ve always thought it looked more like a tiny donut?




	3. Chapter 3

  * So now the weather’s OK enough for Coraline and her mom to go out back-to-school shopping. And dad’s taking the train into London to meet up with friends.
  * Adult me is like “maybe the family doesn’t have the money to get Coraline the cool green gloves along with the vaguely school uniform-type outfits.” Kid me is like “let the girl get the gloves so she can have something cool and different for her own self-expression or whatever.” ~~Me in general is like “Yo, my little sister has always been the one to get the green gloves because my parents always have spoiled the crap out of her, whereas 99% of the time, they’ve always given me the ‘LOL no’ answer.”~~
  * Oh, fun. Now the mom a) isn’t even paying attention when Coraline wanders off to look at cool ~~rainboots~~ Wellies, and b) isn’t really paying attention to Coraline’s made-up story about what happened.
  * So, again, the flat on the other side of the bricked-up door on Coraline’s floor of the house is still supposed to be Just An Empty Flat.
  * Coraline’s mom is going to get groceries because apparently they don’t have any food that isn’t going bad because the dad just used everything else in his Recipe the night before.
  * Also, apparently the mom is some sort of artist?
  * So, it’s taking ages for mom to come home from the grocery store, and dad’s still supposed to be out with friends. And Coraline’s bored enough to try to peek through the bricked-over door…
  * …And now the door leads to a creepy hallway.
  * Coraline decides she Has To Explore, and she seemingly ends up back in the drawing room with Antique Furniture You Can’t Sit On.
  * But everything in the house looks the same but is Subtly Different.
  * Of course that means that there’s something Subtly Creepy And Wrong about the Other Mother already.
  * Yeah, this Awesomely Amazing Lunch is obviously a trap. Hasn’t Coraline read any fairy tales?
  * The Other Old Man Upstairs has rats instead of mice. That’s Totally Not Suspicious At All.
  * Coraline’s Other Room sounds cool.
  * Yeah, those rats totally aren’t suspicious at all, with their ominous song.
  * If the inside of the Other House is Better™, how nice is outside?




	4. Chapter 4

  * So, apparently, on the outside, Coraline’s house looks the same. Except for the huge neon lighted billboard for Misses Spink and Forcible’s theater flat.
  * Oh, fun. The cat showed up. Just good old Cat because there’s no Other Cat. Also, apparently he’s just Cat because cats don’t need names because they’re not like humans and don’t suffer constant identity crises or something.
  * Oh, right. Cats can talk in the Other Mother’s world. (The more I think about it, in the context of this book, I wouldn’t be surprised if cats can talk in Coraline’s part of the real world, too, but choose not to.)
  * Is this cat some distant feline relative of the Marquis de Carabas? Because I kinda feel like that now that I’m older and have read _Neverwhere_.
  * The cat’s glad Coraline brought protection into the Other Mother’s world but wouldn’t explain what he was talking about. Because, y’know, cat reasons.
  * And now Cat’s running off to go hunting for what seems like an invisible mouse but is probably one of the rats from the Other Upstairs Flat.
  * So now Coraline’s going to check out the theater in the downstairs flat.
  * OK, so, apparently dogs can talk here, too. Talking animals are a thing in general here.
  * One of the dogs from the downstairs flat is the ticket taker at the theater, and he’s letting Coraline into the theater even though he’s annoyed that she doesn’t have a ticket. Also, the theater’s full of Misses Spink and Forcible’s other dogs and then some.
  * OK, what even is this vaudeville show that’s going on? Yeah, these Other Misses Spink and Forcible are kinda weird.
  * And apparently dogs in the Other Mother’s world don’t get sick when they eat chocolate.
  * Yep. The Other Mother definitely being creepy already. And a little bit too touchy.
  * “Wanna stay forever, Coraline? We’ll… I mean I’ll… make it super fun like this all the time for you. You just gotta let me give you these button eyes.” “LOL, no thanks, I just wanna go home now.” “OK, see you later.”




	5. Chapter 5

  * Unrelated note: WordPress just updated so that everyone has to use the new blog editor thing, and I hate it. But anyway…
  * So, yeah, Coraline’s back home. Her parents aren’t back from running errands and stuff, and she’s bored while home alone.
  * And they’re still not back the next morning. Because none of this is weird. At all.
  * Coraline’s visiting Misses Forcible and Spink, and they let her have soda, which her parents never let her have. After the whole thing with the mom not letting Coraline get cool rain boots and cool gloves, I can totally see that.
  * “Hey, what are your parents up to?” “IDK, they’re missing.” “OK, cool, can you tell your mom I found an old newspaper article for her?” “Uh… I just said my parents are missing? Grownups never listen.”
  * Coraline’s parents still aren’t home for dinner. Again. And I love the idea of Coraline just grabbing some of the family’s emergency money, running down to the grocery store, and getting herself a dinner of soda, cake, and apples.
  * OK, I feel like I wrote stories like Coraline just did when I was a kid.
  * I love the idea of bubble baths, but I dunno if it was just that one brand of bubble bath I tried as a kid (which was so long ago I forgot what exactly it was) or if it’s all bubble baths that gave me a minor allergic reaction/skin sensitivity issue.
  * And now in the middle of the night, Coraline’s finally getting lonely.
  * So, the cat just showed up to wake Coraline up because of course it figured out a way into her house. The cat’s over here like, “yeah, sure, here’s your parents. They’re stuck in this creepy mirror at the end of the hall.”
  * Coraline’s over here like, “OK, cool, the Other Mother took them. Gotta call the cops about it because they’ll totally think this isn’t a prank call.”
  * Then she follows it up with “yeah, that totally backfired. Guess it’s up to me to go on a rescue mission.”
  * So, apparently when Coraline was younger, she wanted to go on an adventure to explore the landfill just to see what was there. Yeah, I feel like that’s something I would’ve wanted to do as a kid.
  * And then the dad let himself get stung up by wasps to let Coraline get away. And then going back later to get his dropped glasses anyway is what made Coraline think doing what you have to even if it’s scary is the bravest thing ever.
  * Once Coraline and the cat go through the door, the cat’s like, “so that’s why you’re going to rescue your parents?” and Coraline responds with “no, it’s ‘cuz they’re my parents, duh.”
  * “Where’s my parents?” “We’re right here!” “No, you’re not. Where’s my real parents?”
  * And now the Other Mother’s trying to give Coraline a bunch of BS excuses as to where her real parents are in order to keep her there, and Coraline’s not buying any of it.
  * Oh, fun. Looks like the Other Father just Said Too Much about why the Other Mother wants the key to the door between worlds.
  * Yeah, the Other Mother going to bed because she’s tired sounds extra fake now.
  * So now Coraline is going to explore more of the Other Mother’s world.
  * And the cat’s telling her that cats don’t have names because they don’t have an identity crisis that humans do... wait, did I get mixed up when saying that earlier? About the timing of the explanation?
  * The cat thinks the Other Mother wants to keep Coraline because she wants something to “love” (read: obsess over in a really creepy way), and that the only way for Coraline to get her parents back and go back to her old life is to give the Other Mother some kind of challenge.
  * So that’s what Coraline’s gonna have to do after going back home to sleep safely and coming back later.




	6. Chapter 6

  * ~~I thought this would be easier with the wonky formatting on mobile now that I have a new iPad, but no. Not really. Anyway…~~
  * Wow. I wanted to binge read this all in one day last Thanksgiving last year, and now… it’s about a year later, and I’m only now like halfway done. I fail at this.
  * OK, time to get started. With the _Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion_ soundtrack playing in the background.
  * So, yeah, it’s the next day now, and Coraline forgot that she was in the Other House at first.
  * And of course the wardrobe is full of cool clothes that Coraline’s actual parents would’ve never bought her.
  * No, but that stone has to be important if it snapped Coraline back to reality a bit.
  * OK, so, the Other Father just said that the Other Mother is trying to change the doors to keep the cat out. That’s a bad sign. And he looks faker than he did before. Also, he probably just Said Too Much.
  * And he Said Too Much Again when saying the Other Mother’s world currently only is modeled after Coraline’s house and the grounds.
  * Yeah, the random snow globe that’s on the fireplace mantle in this world but not the real world isn’t suspicious at all…
  * So, yeah, now Coraline’s trying to explore the emptiness beyond what the Other Mother bothered to create to keep Coraline there. And the cat’s coming with her.
  * And… she’s not really going anywhere other than in circles.
  * That statement from the cat about a spiderweb is suspiciously ominous.
  * Of course the rats here are the Other Mother’s spies disguised as the old man’s pets.
  * Oh, fun. The Other Mother doesn’t have a reflection in the mirror. And that line about not trusting mirrors is suspicious.
  * Come on Coraline. The Other Mother isn’t letting you go home so easily this time.
  * No, but really. She ain’t gonna let you go now, especially now that you’re seeing how creepy she really is…
  * And now Coraline’s getting thrown into a secret closet behind the mirror.



**Author's Note:**

> See also https://mmcgui12sbookblog.home.blog/


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